So, coming off a disappointing but not detrimental 0-0 draw with Everton, there are both positives and negatives to take. The first positive to take is the fantastic performances from Aaron Ramsey that we've seen both today and on Saturday.
During my life as an Arsenal and football fan i have witnessed many remarkable moments of Arsenals history including the invincible era. But ironically my first real game i watched on TV was our last major trophy. In this game (fa cup final of 2005)i saw a winning team, but where did it all go wrong?
Alex Song left for Barcelona and a hole was left in Arsenal's midfield. This season, Mikel Arteta has been forced to sit deeper back on the pitch, testing his defensive capabilities when Arsenal are searching for possession. As some of you may have seen in a recent interview with Arteta and Santi Cazorla, the smaller, ever-smiling Spaniard notes that Mikel is playing out of position and is still adjusting.
The Gunners midfielder Mikel Arteta was brilliant as an attacking midfielder last season, but now that Alex Song has been sold to Barcelona and Santi Cazorla has been brought in to help the attackers, Arteta has been ordered by Wenger to play more defensively this season.
Arsenal have definitely been more solid at the back this season, and Arteta understands the reasons for his change of style.
Arsenal were thought to be on the verge of signing a big, strong, tough tackling defensive midfielder in the summer, with Yann M'Vila and Etienne Capoue two of the favourites. The window opened and closed and Arsenal, despite having money to spend did not sign an enforcer.
Arsene Wenger had said that he would only buy a player who would improve the squad, so does that mean he thought there were no defensive midfielders good enough?
Both Arsenal and Chelsea are unbeaen and todays game between the two will give the victor a great advantage in confidence and points in the race for the Premiership title, and Arsene Wenger believes the midfield battle will be a big factor in deciding who gets the points.
Alex Song was nominally Arsenal's 'defensive midfielder' last season, but with his departure Wenger believes that he has no-one in the team that be given that title any more.
Arteta has been one of the Gunners most telling signings in years. Often seen doing all the work behind the scenes the player has emerged as this season's surprise package, playing exceptionally well as a defensive midfielder. The Gunners have had an impressive start to their campaign this season and Mikel Arteta believes the game against City will prove to be an important one as an indication of whether Arsenal can go on and win the league this year.
I'm extremely optimistic about this new Arsenal squad and the qualities will be more evident when we play City and Chelsea. Having said that i have a few notes about yesterday's game against Southampton.
Coquelin made a few mistakes, which can be pinned on match rustiness, but they were not obvious because the rest of the team were there to cover for him.
During the summer, Arsenal were being linked with every defensive midfielder going, from Yann M'Vila to Lucas Biglia. One of the men who was top of most Gooners wish lists was the 24-year old French international Etienne Capoue. Now it is being reported that the Gunners are lining up a £12 million swoop for Capoue [.
Arsene Wenger has said that Johan Djourou still has a future
at Arsenal despite the fact that the centre-half wanted to leave the club in the
summer transfer window.
Djourou made just 14 first-team appearances for the Gunners last season and hasn't featured at
all in the club's 2012/13 campaign.
Arsenal's hopes of securing Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien are seemingly given a boost by the
Blues' decision to omit the Ghana international from their match-day squad against Atletico Madrid
in the UEFA Super Cup.
Essien was not part of the team that will be fighting for Chelsea's first trophy of the season
in Monaco this evening, with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger reportedly looking for a shock swoop as
early as yesterday.
After finally agreeing to sell Croatian midfielder Luka Modric to Real Madrid today, Spurs have
launched a bid to sign Yann M'Vila from Rennes. The 22-year old defensive midfielder was thought to
be right at the top of Arsene Wenger's wish list at the start of the summer, but nothing has been
heard for a [.
Arsenal are apparently preparing a £15 million offer for a midfielder from Newcastle United, but
it is not the one we were expecting. Most Arsenal fans believe that a strong defensive midfielder
is the priority for the Gunners, and we were being linked with Newcstle's 26-year old Ivorian
Cheick Tiote who is a tough tackling [.
There have been a number of reports that Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager is interested in buying
Cheick Tiote, Newcastle's top defensive midfielder. Cheick Tiote in action last week against
Tottenham Arsene spoke after Arsenal's second 0-0 draw in a row this season, this time at Stoke,
and he was asked if Tiote would be a [.
Traditionally in soccer, certain numbers are associated with certain positions. The number 1 is always going to be a goalkeeper's number. When we say "number 9" we're talking about a striker. A "number 10" is a central attacking midfielder, a trequartista, and a subject we talked about just a few days ago in this very countdown.
Coming in during the summer of 2011 along with Mike Chabala, Lovel Palmer was intended to add extra muscle to he right back position, a consistent sore spot for the Portland Timbers. Unfortunately for Palmer, he was unable to mesh well with the squad or the position to help create a fully effective defensive backline.
Alan Pardew will start with an unchanged Newcastle side today at White Hart Lane in the tough game against Tottenham Hotspur today in the Premier League. As expected Jame Perch retains his place as the defensive midfielder, in spite of Cheick Tiote returning form the African Cup of Nations last week.
Some news breaking today is that Newcastle are interested in signing Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila this month, and the 22 year-old French International defensive midfielder certainly wants to leave the French league, and his first choice seems to be the Premier League. Yann M'Vila Newcastle interested?
Looking at QPR's first three league games this season it's obvious they have had their defensive problems. Two main areas stand out for me where they have appeared to be weak and I am about to show you those areas. They are:
Covering the late run from midfield
Centre backs getting caught ball watching, being sucked towards the ball and leaving strikers unmarked in the box.
The Colorado Rapids face a seven-game, end of the season slog in an attempt to salvage a couple
of wins and a little bit of pride before the long off season.
Where those wins will come from is in doubt with the latest evidence of the team's ineffective
attack coming in the form of Friday night's 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has suffered a new fitness nightmare after being ruled out for up
to three months with a thigh injury.
The Brazilian sustained the problem in the warm-up before last Sunday's draw with Manchester City
and limped out of the game after just five minutes at Anfield.
Manchester City told to stump up for Martinez and Garcia - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Roberto Mancini was vocal in the need for Manchester City to strengthen their squad in the
aftermath of his side's 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, but the Premier League champions will
not get any of their targets for cheap.
Roberto Mancini confirms Manchester City's intentions to buy - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
After Manchester City came back from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Liverpool on Sunday, Roberto
Mancini has confirmed that the club must buy new players before the end of the transfer window to
retain their Premier League title.
2012/13 Manchester City Shirts - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Boasting a high quality squad, champions of English Premier League 2011/12, Manchester City
start the new season with confidence. Roberto Mancini is very well prepared to defend their Premier
League crown and assault the European front as well.
talkSPORT is reporting today that talks are ongoing between Newcastle United and West Ham, about the possible transfer of 23 year-old England U21 International James Tomkins to the Magpies. James Tomkins capped 10 times for the England U21 side Certainly Newcastle were interested in the center-back come defensive midfielder last January, and we see [.
Mohamed Diame joined West Ham last August as a free agent, after being at Wigan Athletic for three seasons, and there's some news today that Newcastle may be interested in signing the 6'1″ defensive midfielder, who has played 12 times for Senegal. Mohamed Diame West Ham defensive midfielder There's no doubt that West Ham's [.
Gael Bigirimana had a very good game for Newcastle on Sunday in a very important position, as
defensive midfielder, and Alan Pardew today had sang the praised of the former Coventry City
player, and said Gael got better as the game went on. Gael Bigirimana excellent game on Sunday And
surely this is the [.
Every MLS fan knows the names of Dwayne De Rosario and Chris Pontius. They're legitimate superstars. Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, and Perry Kitchen are well on their way too.
None of those players are nominated for this award. This award is for the other guys.
The Richie Award is named after Richie Williams, the central defensive midfielder on those early championship-winning D.
The New York Red Bulls latest Designated Player, Tim Cahill, has been outspoken about his
transition into Major League Soccer but what does his new partner Dax McCarty think?
The 25-year-old veteran of the American top flight has found a solid form all season long while
teaming with a plethora of different options in the middle.
Torsten Frings is undoubtedly one of most recognizable figures in Major League Soccer.
He's a well-decorated player whose reputation precedes him, having won domestic league and cup
titles in Germany, and winning a bronze medal at the 2006 World Cup.
Last night saw David Luiz take up the role of defensive midfielder again, something that he has not been asked to do for quite a while. I thought he had a mixed game; we saw the best and the worst from him. Some very strong tackles were made, but then he was also outsmarted on more than one occasion.
In an effort to improve its midfield next season, the New England Revolution signed former Bristol City midfielder Kalifa Cisse via free transfer on Monday.
Cisse, a defensive midfielder by trade, has accumulated eight seasons worth of European experience between England and Portugual.
"We're very pleased to add a player of Kalifa's stature and experience, having played in the top divisions in Portugal and England," Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said in a statement.
While it may seem odd that a defensive midfielder could have this big of an impact, Fire fans know very well how valuable Pardo is to the team. Apart from his stout defensive work in shutting down opposing teams' attacks, he can also contribute offensively. Pavel is a threat on free kicks and corners, as well as setting up teammates with beautiful passes and service.
Ulloa is by trade a defensive midfielder and while he has been played at other spots, notably in the back, Clavijo remains convinced his best spot is at holding mid. However, that could all change if he performs well in other spots, something FCD plans to experiment with once preseason starts in January.
Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he will be using midfielder Lucas Leiva as a scout after injury
ruled him out of action for more than two months.
The Brazilian midfielder missed much of the last campaign through injury, and after making his
return this season, has once again been ruled out after picking up a thigh problem against
Manchester City.
Cesc Fabregas looks like a mis-fit in Barca midfield.
It was all supposed to be really smooth. He was the one with the Barca DNA, so getting into this
midfield was not at all a big task for Cesc Fabregas. The only factor to weigh in was how Iniesta
and Xavi would be rotated to accomodate Cesc in.
yesterday's UK bank holiday meant things were a bit quieter than we might have liked, but I
suspect this is going to be a busy week. Not just for Arsenal, but for many clubs as the transfer
window closes on Friday and with it the final chance to boost/replenish/streamline squads.
starting this morning with non-footballing stuff and the news that Andre Santos was arrested and
bailed last Friday 'on suspicion of dangerous driving'. The BBC report is quite understated,
saying:
Shortly after 9.30am on Friday August 17, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of
dangerous driving and failing to stop for police on the A1, near to Junction 22 of the M25.
